Auto Detailing Guide - Interior Care

• Interior Care Overview
• Carpet Care
• Interior Trim
• Leatherique Leather Care Application
• Pro Detailer Leathique Application

Interior Care Overview (Return to Top)

Caring for your interior is just as important as your exterior. You spend the most time inside your vehicle and your passengers often take notice of how clean, or not so clean, your interior is. It's important to protect your interior trim and leather from harmful UV rays that can potentially dry out and fade your interior. Keep your interior looking like new so you enjoy getting into your vehicle each and every time.

Carpet Care (Return to Top)

Caring for your carpets is pretty straight simple, especially if you keep up with the maintenance. Unfortunately, your carpets often see the most wear and tear since you are constantly bringing in dirt, debris and contamination from you and your passengers shoes. We recommend starting off with a firm bristle brush to loosen debris embedded in the carpets. Try to start in one corner and work your way towards a mid point from all angles. Once you've made a pile of debris, use a vacuum to suck them up. Metro Vacuums are perfect for auto detailers as they are small, portable, powerful and have lots of attachments designed to get in nearly every part of your vehicle. Continue this until you have made your first round of cleaning on your carpets and upholstery.

After making an initial pass with the brush and vacuum, spot treat any stains with a fabric cleaner or degreaser. Allow the cleaner to dwell on the carpets for a minute or so, then scrub them again with a firm bristle brush. This will help remove any stains that have accumulated and also pulls up more dirt and debris from the carpets. Repeat this process on any stubborn stains. Once you are satisfied with the cleaning, use the vacuum again to suck up any loose debris.

Once your carpet has dried, we recommend protecting your carpet with some 303 High Tech Fabric Guard. This will help prevent stains from forming in the future and will make cleaning your carpets easier in the long run. Simply mist some product onto your carpet and upholstery for a barrier of protection. We recommend using a smaller 4 oz pump spray bottle for a finer mist than the supplied trigger, which gives you more control and uses the product more effectively.

Interior Trim (dashboard, console, doors, etc.) (Return to Top)

Most interiors consist of a combination of vinyl, plastic and leather surfaces. Most products designed for interior trim will work on all of those surfaces. The main goal is to clean and protect these surfaces which will help prevent UV fading.

Some products such as Optimum Protectant Plus and Poorboy's Natural Look or Leather Stuff will clean and UV protect leather, vinyl, rubber and plastic in one step. This is a great time and money saver since you only need to buy one product and you can kill two birds with one stone. Applying them is pretty straight forward. Mist them into a microfiber towel and work it into your trim using light pressure. For neglected trim, you can use a brush for deeper cleaning action. You want to spread the product as thin as possible for a uniform, matte finish. We recommend following up the application with a dry microfiber towel to ensure there is no streaking.

Another option is to use a separate cleaner and protectant. This method may provide a deeper clean for those stubborn stains. The process is very similar as the one step process, you are just performing it twice. Choose your favorite all purpose cleaner that is safe for the surface you want to clean, mist it into a towel and work it into the surface. Repeat as needed for stubborn stains. After the surface is properly prepped, follow up your favorite dressing that UV protects. One of our most popular UV protectants is 303 Aerospace Protectant. This leaves behind a beautiful matte finish and offers some of the best UV protection available.

Leatherique Leather Care Product Application (Return to Top)

Leatherique leather care products are some of the best in the industry. They are the product of choice for the Bentley and Rolls Royce Owners Clubs. Leatherique can restore faded, hardened and neglected leather when applied properly.

Leatherique is a two step process consisting of the Leatherique Rejuvenator Oil and Leatherique Prestine Clean. The application of these products is unique and the bottles do not provide great directions so we will outline how to get the best possible results.

You want to start off using the Leatherique Rejuvenator Oil, which will deeply penetrate and condition your leather. Apply the product liberally on your leather seats with either your bare hands or a terry cloth applicator pad. You can use a leather brush to help penetrate the product deeper into the leather. Once the product is sitting on the leather, you want to back your vehicle into the sun to create a sauna effect in your car. The heat will help the Rejuvenator Oil do its job more effectively by penetrating the leather and helping force contamination up to the surface. If it's not sunny out, some professional detailers will use a hair dryer or heat gun to help heat up the leather surface. Ideally, you want to let the Rejuvenator Oil sit for as long as possible, up to 48 hours for maximum results.

After you've let the product sit on the leather for as long as possible, the surface should be somewhat tacky to the touch. To remove the mess of the Rejuvenator Oil, you apply the Prestine Clean directly on top. Apply the product with a terry cloth applicator pad, working it into the leather. Let the Prestine Clean sit on the leather for another 15 to 30 minutes. Once ready, take a warm, wrung out damp towel, and remove both products from the leather. Immediately follow up with a dry cotton towel to reveal your revived leather.

After the Leatherique process, we recommend UV protecting your leather with 303 Aerospace Protectant. Maintain your restored leather with one of the one step leather care products until you wish to perform the entire process again.

Professional Leather Care Guide (Return to Top)

See how one of the top professional detailers in the US uses Leatherique to restore neglected leather.